


Sensory Hell

by RetroactiveCon



Series: Praying That It'll Be You [19]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Autistic Cisco Ramon, M/M, Malls are Sensory Hell, Overstimulation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:42:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22551193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RetroactiveCon/pseuds/RetroactiveCon
Summary: It is not, in fact, a Team Flash bonding event that Hartley wants to be part of. The blame, if blame needs to be apportioned, is technically Jesse’s, but here they all are, wandering around the mall.
Relationships: Barry Allen/Hartley Rathaway
Series: Praying That It'll Be You [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1562548
Comments: 5
Kudos: 78





	Sensory Hell

**Author's Note:**

> This is short and just sort of me needing to rant. Warnings for some ableist sentiments - Cisco internalized bad things about his autism when he was small and falls back on them during overstim.

It is not, in fact, a Team Flash bonding event that Hartley wants to be part of. The blame, if blame needs to be apportioned, is technically Jesse’s, but here they all are, wandering around the mall. Jesse stares, gape-mouthed, at everything. 

“On my Earth, this mall closed when I was a kid! And it didn’t really look like this but—ooh you have the same little bakery we had!” She grabs Harry’s arm and points at a little, garishly pink bakery. Hartley avoids it on principle, but now that food is on offer, all three speedsters look perfectly desperate. “Can we go?”

Harry heaves a tremendous sigh. “Yes, I suppose. Allen. West. You two are hungry too, aren’t you?”

Caitlin, who can be trusted to remember them, takes everybody’s orders. They don’t sound out of the ordinary—Barry partial to very sweet things, Wally and Ronnie asking for slightly less sweet—until she asks Cisco. 

“No.” Cisco barely opens his mouth when he speaks. His eyes are locked on the tile floor. “Not hungry.”

“Cisco.” Caitlin purses her lips. Hartley knows the argument she’ll make—that he’ll feel better if he eats, which is true—but he also suspects he knows what’s wrong. If he’s right, food is the last thing on Cisco’s mind. 

“There’s a Barnes and Noble across the way,” he says. “You go get food. Cisco, come with me, I think they have a Who event going on.” 

Caitlin’s expression softens and she nudges Cisco’s shoulder. “Go with Hartley. We’ll catch up.” 

Cisco trails a pace behind Hartley and to his left. When they reach the Barnes and Noble, Hartley sets a quick pace for the associated Starbucks. It offers a haven free of mall music, relatively dimly-lit, with chairs that sort of pass for comfortable. As soon as Cisco realizes where they’re headed, he bolts out ahead of Hartley and claims the table in the back corner. 

“Hey.” Hartley sits down opposite him and makes a show of looking at Cisco’s collar (wet, as though it’s been recently chewed). It isn’t mocking; he merely wants to make it clear that he doesn’t want eye contact. “Do you have a chew with you?” 

Cisco shakes his head. He only recently got a chew necklace as a gift from Barry; it isn’t yet habit to wear it around. 

“I’ll be right back.” Hartley bolts into the store, grabs the first clearance pen set he can find, and checks out in a hurry. When he gets back, he offers Cisco a pen. “It isn’t your chew, but…”

Without further prompting, Cisco sticks the end in his mouth and worries at it with his front teeth. Gradually, some of the glazed overstim look leaves his eyes. 

“Better?” Hartley prompts. 

“Sorry.” His words are muffled around the pen. “Too many people. And the music. And lots of bright colors. ‘S a lot.” 

“I figured.” Hartley watches the pen. It had a little kitten face on one end; by now, the kitten’s ears are lopsided and its face dented as though it lost a fight. “My little sister would get overstimulated like that if we were out too long—shopping or at the park or wherever. I learned pretty quickly how to calm her down. The only thing I don’t understand is why you would come along if you don’t like the mall.”

“Don’t wanna be bad,” Cisco mumbles. 

Hartley’s brow furrows. “You’re allowed to say ‘that’s not for me, see you tomorrow,’ and we’ll leave it at that. Or I will,” he amends. He can’t speak for the others, who are somewhat more insistent about their hangout times. 

Cisco shakes his head. “If I don’t come with, I’m selfish and don’t care about you,” he mumbles. “And I do, I love you guys, so…”

Hartley doesn’t need to ask where he got that idea. By now, without Hartley to stand up for her, Jerrie has probably internalized the same thing. “It’s not selfish to say that something will be too much for you. We care about you enough to respect your boundaries.” 

Cisco shifts the pen to chew it with his back teeth. “No boundaries,” he mutters. “My boundaries are bad and stupid. Like me.” 

“You’re not bad and stupid, nor are your boundaries.” Hartley glances over his shoulder. He can just see a familiar gaggle wander through the doors. “You have a right to say no.”

Cisco snorts. “Coming from you, sure. You only say no.”

“Not when it counts.” Hartley says this under his breath. He and Cisco have had that discussion once; he has no desire to bring it up a second time. 

“Hey.” Caitlin approaches the table slowly and speaks in a low, soothing voice. “They had enormous cookies, and I figured you needed something in your system to keep going.” She holds out a massive chocolate chip cookie. Cisco takes it, unwraps it, and breaks off a piece. 

“Thanks, Caity,” he mumbles. 

“You can go home if you need to,” she offers. Over her shoulder, Hartley sees various other members of the group nod their assent. “Or I can take you home, if you’re too overstimulated to go on your own.”

“You’re having fun,” Hartley interrupts. “I can go. I came here with one purpose, and I can fulfill it another day.” In fact, that might be preferable—not because he doesn’t enjoy their company but because he doesn’t want their teasing. 

To Hartley’s surprise, Cisco tips sideways and leans his head on Hartley’s shoulder. “I wanna go home.” 

“All right.” Getting up would mean dislodging Cisco from his comfortable position. Instead, Hartley beckons Barry closer and, when he’s within grabbing distance, catches his hand. “I’m gonna take Cisco home, sweet boy. I’ll text you when we’re there and you can tell me how close you are to being done here, okay? Depending on your answer, I’ll either come back or go right home.”

Barry leans down and kisses him gently on the cheek. “Okay. I’ll see you soon either way.”

“Come on, then.” Hartley coaxes Cisco to his feet. “Let’s get you home.”


End file.
